The survey examines how top managers control and manage investments in digital technologies so that they contribute to the sustainable development of companies. The study analyzed 25 factors, and almost 2,000 executive directors from 51 countries shared their opinions and experience.
Slovak and Czech companies are insufficiently prepared to introduce digital technologies compared to Western European, and particularly UK companies
- 26% of Slovak and Czech companies do not have a digital strategy, whereas in the UK this figure is only 4% and in Western Europe 12%
- 39% of Czech and Slovak companies consider digital strategies to be a synonym for IT; in the UK this figure is 17%
- 50% of Slovak and Czech companies and 19% of UK companies do not have a Chief Digital Officer
- 81% of UK managers regard a CEO as a digital leader; in the Czech Republic and Slovakia this figure is 59%
- 31% of Czech and Slovak companies state that they do not have the technological abilities to implement digital goals, whereas in the UK this figure is only 6%
- 31% of Slovak and Czech companies, as against 76% of UK companies, believe that they have the required skills to implement digital goals,
- 90% of UK companies, but only 41% of Slovak and Czech companies, have clearly determined tasks and responsibilities for establishing a digital company across all the functions – IT, marketing, product development, analytics etc.
- Up to 71% of Slovak and Czech companies, but only 18% of UK and 35% of Western European companies, think that in the future ineffective project management will be an increasing barrier
- 57% of Slovak and Czech companies state that they lack support and a clear division of tasks and responsibilities for digital technologies at their companies, whereas only 24% of UK and 30% of Western European companies consider this fact to be a barrier
Western European companies expect higher value added from investing in digital technologies
Product innovations are expected from digital technologies by twice as many UK companies (47%) as Czech and Slovak (24%) companies. Digital technologies are regarded as a source of future revenues by 49% of Western European companies, but only 37% of Czech and Slovak companies.
Czech and Slovak companies expect improvements in data analytics and processes, and costs reductions from digital technologies, whereas companies in Western Europe and the UK expect a greater impact on sales and marketing and in retaining talents and recruiting employees from digital technologies.
Companies in the UK and Western Europe search more systematically for innovations
Up to 69% of UK companies primarily search for innovations using innovation teams established for this purpose, and only 8% of UK companies rely on ad-hoc teams. In contrast, with regard to searching for innovations, Slovak and Czech companies rely on ad-hoc established teams in 37% of cases, and only 20% of companies systematically search for innovations using innovation teams and create prototypes in their own laboratories. Designated teams for digital innovations have been established in 75% of UK and 59% of Western European companies, but just 41 % of Slovak and Czech companies.
A systematic approach to the evaluation of newly emerging technologies is systematically applied by 77% of UK companies while only 48% of Slovak and Czech companies do the same. More tan a quarter (27%) of Czech and Slovak companies copy their competitors, while in the UK this is the case at just 10% of companies. Slovak and Czech companies rely more on connections, and up to 27% of them, compared to under 5% of UK companies, find innovations when networking with leaders from other companies and other industries.
Czech and Slovak companies underestimate data analytics and data use as a potential competitive advantage
Up to 85% of UK companies believe that they make effective use of all available data that can give businesses an advantage, whereas only 41% of Slovak and Czech companies make the same claim.
Data on customers from mobile communications are considered important by 72% of UK companies and 44% of Slovak and Czech companies. Data on social media are considered important by 70% of UK companies, but just 49 % of Slovak and Czech companies. Data on geo-location are considered important by 60% of UK companies and 40% of Czech and Slovak companies.
About the Survey
This is the 7th Digital IQ Survey conducted by PwC. It has been undertaken on a regular basis since 2007. The data collection took place in September 2015 with 1,988 respondents in 51 countries participating. Up to 21 % of respondents work in companies with a turnover of USD 1 billion and above, and 52% of respondents work at companies with a turnover of USD 500 million to USD 1 billion. The study is available at:
www.pwc.com/sk/en/publikacie/digital-iq-2015.html
Pavol Adamec, Director, PwC Slovakia
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